God’s Creation Outreach Ministry was a small Pentecostal storefront church in Kansas City, Kansas, founded and incorporated in April 1992 by Christy Edgar. Operating under the Church of God in Christ denomination, the congregation was pastored by Neil Edgar, while his wife, Christy Edgar, served as co-pastor, evangelist and self-proclaimed “prophet.”
The church operated from a building on Central Avenue and maintained a public image focused on community outreach, addiction recovery and assistance for young people. Despite this public mission, the organization forfeited its formal corporate status in 2000 after failing to file annual reports, although it continued to operate privately.
Internally, the congregation developed an insular environment centered on Christy Edgar’s claimed spiritual authority. At its peak, the church had as many as 100 members, some of whom lived communally across several properties owned by the Edgars or the church.
Members who held jobs outside the ministry were required to surrender their paychecks directly to the church. Former members later testified that the congregation operated on the belief that Christy Edgar received direct revelations from God, giving her authority over members’ daily lives and spiritual affairs.
Public scrutiny increased in December 2002 following the death of nine-year-old Brian Edgar, an adopted son of Neil and Christy Edgar. The child died from asphyxiation after being bound with duct tape as punishment. Investigators subsequently determined that in late 2002, Christy Edgar had introduced what she described as a “new way to discipline children” to the congregation, claiming that the practice of severe physical restraint had been revealed to her by God.
Church families followed the directive, and methods of discipline came to include hog-tying children with plastic flex-ties, extension cords and belts. Children were also subjected to having their mouths taped shut and being left restrained overnight.
The revelations led to the arrests of Neil and Christy Edgar, along with family babysitter Chasity Boyd and several other female church associates. They faced child abuse charges connected to multiple properties used by the ministry.
Testimony during the subsequent proceedings indicated that surviving children had absorbed the church’s teachings and used biblical explanations to rationalize their own physical abuse. Defense attorneys characterized the ministry as a cult and argued that members had experienced “brainwashing” and lived under a “reign of terror” directed by Christy Edgar.
Local leaders within the denomination initially defended Neil and Christy Edgar but later acknowledged that Christy Edgar had exercised what they described as total, military-like control over the congregation through practices that were not authorized by the broader denomination.
God’s Creation Outreach Ministry closed permanently following the arrests of its leadership in late 2002. Christy Edgar later pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and child abuse. Neil Edgar and Chasity Boyd were convicted at trial of first-degree felony murder and child abuse. In total, seven people connected to the ministry were ultimately held legally accountable.
Key Sources:
The Associated Press. (2003, September 24). Siblings detail discipline before brother’s death
Rizzo, T. (2003, September 27). ‘You must love discipline,’ Edgar children were taught. The Kansas City Star.
Shafer, A. (2003, December 5). Mother considers withdrawing plea in death of son. The Associated Press.
Siek, S. V. (2004, January 21). Woman Gets Life in Prison for Son’s Death. The Associated Press,